Various types of electronic devices such as semiconductor and optoelectronic devices employ capacitive structures to effect proper circuit operation. Examples of such devices include, among others, insulated-gate field-effect transistors (IGFETs), insulated-gate thyristors, discrete capacitors and various types of optics devices. In the commonly-used IGFET, for example, a gate controls an underlying surface channel joining a source and a drain. The channel, source and drain are typically located in a semiconductor substrate material, with the source and drain being doped oppositely to the substrate material and located on either side of the channel. The gate is separated from the semiconductor substrate material by a thin insulating layer such as a gate oxide having a substantially uniform thickness. To operate the IGFET, an input voltage is applied to its gate and, through the capacitive structure defined by the electrode material on either side of the gate oxide, this input voltage causes a transverse electric field in the channel. This field then modulates the longitudinal conductance of the channel to electrically couple source and drain regions.
Various benefits can be realized by reducing the dimensions of such electronic semiconductor devices. One benefit is the ability to increase the number of individual devices that can be placed onto a single Silicon chip or die without increasing its relative size. Also, increasing the number of individual devices, especially IGFETs, leads to increased functionality. Yet another benefit is increased speed of the individual devices as well as their collective arrangements.
For decades, the semiconductor industry has been realizing these size-reduction benefits using Silicon substrates at a tremendous rate, as exemplified by the electrical performance of MOS-type (metal-oxide-semiconductor) Silicon-based IGFETs doubling every two to three years. However, the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) notes that “traditional scaling” of such Silicon-based IGFETs (e.g., planar bulk Silicon-MOS structures) is beginning to face limits to this continued progress. The extent to which the semiconductor industry can drive this scaling of Silicon-based IGFET devices is unknown, but there is agreement that the current rate of technology evolution permits only about 4 more technological-advancement nodes of this “classical” Silicon-based approach.
One promising material for use in a variety of semiconductor and optoelectronic devices is Germanium (Ge). Germanium has very high carrier mobility and generally superior transport properties, relative to other materials. For example, relative to Silicon (Si), Germanium's electron mobility is two-fold larger, and its hole mobility four-fold larger. Germanium also has a relatively small absorption coefficient, which makes it attractive for integration of monolithic photodetectors for the ultimate use in optical interconnects. In addition, successful growth of Germanium on Silicon facilitates subsequent growth of optically active material such as Gallium Arsenic (GaAs) materials since Germanium and GaAs have the same lattice constant.
In the past few decades, researchers have been trying to build MOS-type transistors and capacitors using Germanium and, in many instances, Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) for integrated electronic and/or optical circuit applications. However, various problems with Germanium, and in particular Germanium as implemented with Silicon, have been challenging. For example, Germanium and Silicon have different lattice structures, such that a Silicon-Germanium interface typically exhibits a lattice mismatch of about 4%. This lattice mismatch presents challenges to the epitaxial growth of Germanium on Silicon; Germanium crystallization from a Silicon-Germanium interface has typically been characterized by non-epitaxial and other defect-containing growth. Resulting Germanium crystalline structure exhibits characteristics that are often undesirable for a variety of implementations. For instance, such crystalline growth is typically associated with a large density of defects and surface roughness, causing difficulties in process integration, such as wafer bonding for Germanium-on-insulator (GOI) applications. Defects emanating from the Silicon-Germanium interface due to lattice mismatch typically propagate at the crystalline growth front to an upper surface of the Germanium material. This can lead to degradation in device properties.
The above-discussed issues have presented challenges to the fabrication and implementation of Germanium and of Silicon-Germanium interfaces with intrinsic Silicon and Germanium as well as with materials having Silicon or Germanium with other materials, such as those implemented with GOI structures (e.g., a Germanium-containing material on a Silicon Oxide type material) and others. Previous approaches involving Silicon-Germanium interfaces have generally been limited to very thin layers of Germanium (or Germanium-containing material) on Silicon (or Silicon-containing material).